Refrigerator construction



, L. H. DARBYSHIRE REFRIGERA'IORl CONSTRUCTION V 3 Sheets-Sheet l FiledJuly 20, 1938 III 5i 'T i I ll I i Il -REFRIGERATOR CONSTRUCTION v 1Filed July 2o, 1938 o All'igrzrepresentsa side elevationof 'Xshown inFig. A1:

Patented 1941"` l i er This invention relates to cabinet construe--`tion and more particularly to insulated 'cabinets' of the type used fordomestic refrigerators.. 4This invention has particular reference to'means for attaching an inner lining to an outer wall memv berfox-.forming an insulated wall oi; door of the cabinet.

It is an object ofgthis invention'to -provide" a novel and cheaper formyof cabinet construction.

l It is another-object of this inventionv topmevide a refrigeratorcasing which is self-supportl ing .having no internal 'frame forsupporting eithenthe casing 'or lining.

n is another object of 'this .mvenuenteiprevide e refrigerator cabinetwhich wm be made up of as few partsgas possible thus eliminating eseveral steps inthe assemblyof thecabinet.

. vIt is another object .of this-invention to provide a refrigeratorcasing which may be shaped from. a single metal plate if desired. f

It isranother vobject of this invention to provide a refrigerator liningunit which may be j etteenedmreeuy te me refrigerator easing wanlout anyseparate frame support and which may -be installed through the front ofthe cabinet fning a door opening1 'line 4--4 of F18. `1:

broken away'. of the cabinet shown in Figs. 1

" Fig'. 4 represents la vsection taken along the' Fig. 5 representsanenlarged view lof 'the core ner of the'cabinet illustrated in Fig. -1partially broken away to more clearly indicate the relation of theparts;

Fig; 6 represents a'-sect ion line --Bof Fig. 5; Fig. 'l represents anenlarged view of the corner of the dooiviewedv from the back side of thedoor; and Y .Fig. 8 represents a top plan View of the refrigerator doorpartially broken away to indicate the relation of. the parts.

In all vi ws of the attached drawings chine'compartment 2I'andprovisionv compartment 25. v The casing 2l carries a provisioncomwithout any connections to be made fromthe -rear of the refrigerator.

It is another obiectof this invention to provides novel means forattaching a refrigerator lining tothe casing in which ,the throat liningofthe cabinet acts as athermal break between the lining and casing. v

It is another object'oi this invention to provide a door for closing arefrigerator cabinet comprising two metal plates which maybe supportedfrom each other 4without a separate frame member.

\ n is another object of use invention te previde a refrigeratorlcabinet whichwill have-an increased capacity for any given sise ofcabinet;4

a back panel 38. -These panels maybe fastenedy partment door 2l throughwhich access is had to the provision compartment 25 defined by thelining 28. The cabinet may be supported upon a base Il of any` desiredconstruction and has mounted in the machine compartment the ma- `Ichinesupports 32 to which suitable condensing 'machinery may be fastened. .Y

I .have shown the refrigerator casing to Ibe made up of two side panels34, a top panel 36 and together in any suitable manner such as byweld-f.

ing; The casing also has a partitionpanel 40 which separates the machinecompartment from the provision compartment. Ifso desired all of `It isanother object of `this invention'to provide a refrigerator door inwhich -a portion of the means holding the inner and outer panels of theydoor act as a thermal vbreak between 'the two panels.' v j Other obiectsand adxmintages of this invention will be apparent from a considerationof the following speciilcation and the attached drawings of which thereare three sheets and in' which:

Fig. l represents a front elevation of a refrig erator involvingv myinvention;

vthe cabinet the panels may, be shaped from one integral sheet of metal.Thetop panel Bia-nd the side panels 3| are bent to form flangesextending over a portion of the front and back of the cabinetasindicated at 42. The outside of the cabinet will be'given some suitablefinish such as porcelain or enamel.

F13. 3 represents a top' plan view, partially .55

The front portion of the machine compartment 24 may be covered with asuitable door u or that portion of the casing may be formed integrallywith the side panels and may be shaped to simulatethe appearance' of a'doorsV The front flange 42 of the-casing panelshas an' inturned iiangelIt formed along ali four sides of the door opening. This flange isadapted to erate with a flange carried on the tank'lining n which willbe described later.V f

In this particular embodiment of my hurentaken along the numbers avebeen used to indicate the same parts shown. As shownin Figs. 1 and 2,the refrigerator consists gen rally of a casing 20de-v 2 2l andenclosing a mation I have provided an opening in the back wall of thecabinet. .This opening lato-provide for` the insertion of an evaporatorinto the tank lining from the rear ofthe refrigerator.

Y the roll Il has an outturned flange l2 formed on the forward sidethereof. This'fiange 52 is arranged to be in alignment with the flangeII on the casing when the lining is installed within the casing. Beforethe lining is inserted into the casing, suitable insulating material 5Iwill be installed around the inside of the casing. vThe tank will ofcourse'have an opening 29 in its rear wall to cooperate with the opening39 in the casing.

Y For the purpose rigidly to the casing 20, I have provided fourturnbuckles "56 for engaging lugs I8 at each corner of the door openingof the casing and lugs III at each corner of the tank lining 28. Thelugs il and It are formed of metal strips 62 which are bent double toform the lug and then bent at right angles to fit over the flanges I6and $2. These metal strips 62 may be fastened to the flanges by spotwelding.' Each of the lugs 58 and 6l has a hole il punched in it whichis adapted a portion of the flanges and l2 or the holes 6I may bepunched directly in the flanges.

In order to lill the space between the flanges .'52 and I6 andalso togive the turnbuckles 56 something to pull against, I have providedseparating strips it along each side of the door '"fopening. As shown inFig. 4f these separating strips have notches 'Il and 12 cut along theiredges adapted to receive the flanges 4I and l2, respectively. Eachseparating strip il may be shaped to hold arubber .gasket 'i4 betweenitself and' the front edge of the tank roll il. This gasket 1l assures atightseal between the separating strip and the tankl lining. Separatingstrips il will -preferably be'made of some heat insulating Amaterialsuch as wood or Bakelite and will be given a waterproof :Ilnish ofpleasing appearance,

vIt will be noted from an inspection of Fig; 5 that the separatingstrips Il extendonly -along ,nach side of thetanxuning il musleavmg'anopen space at each corner of the tank lining. This open space ispurposely left to allow for the installation and tightening oftheturnbuckles of holding the tank lining zap the gusset plate This returnnange Il is in turn bent out along each side to form a flange It thefunction of which corresponds to the function of the iiange of therefrigerator casing. 'I'he door lining I2 hasan outturned flange Ilcorresponding in means of turnbuckles Il in much the same man-- ner asthe tank lining 28 is held to the casing 2l.

For this purpose, I have provided the metal strips 92 at each corner ofthe inner panel 82 and the gusset plates 94 at each corner of the outerpanel. The strips 92 are bent double in the'center to form the lugs 98and are welded onto the flange 8B. 'I'he gusset plate 94 is bent doubleto form the lug- 98 and is welded to the return flange Il of the outerpanel between the return'ilange 84 and the outside of the panel. I haveprovided the flanges 93 on the edge of each gusset plate which areadapted to t over the flanges 8i of the outer panel. 'Ihe anges Il thusautomatically locate the correct position for to be welded to the returnflange 8l. l

- The lugs Si and 9B have holesl |00 punched in them which are engagedby the turnbuckles Al.. As in the connectionvbetween the tank lining andfthe cabinet, the inner and outer panels of the door are separated byseparating strips |02 which engage the flanges 8B on the outer panel ofthe flanges 88 on the inner panel. The two panels may be drawn togetheragainst the opposite sides of the separating strips |02 by tighteningthe turnbuckles SI, and the open lspaces at each the back ofthe-,cabinet open for fastening the i 'rae drn :or closing thecompletely around the back side of the panel z5' ngovlsioncoinpartmentismade up of an outerpanel DI and an erator withoutincreasing its general dimensions, u

I have provided a door which is curved outwardly as shown at iM. Thisobviously Pallows the shelves llt to be given a curved shape at theirforward edge for increasing their effective area..

In order to provide this curved door the inner panel l2 must be curvedoutwardly to be concenf tric with the outer panel l0'. Thus, the innerpanel 82 has a horizontal portion |06 at the, top and bottom thereofwhich portion connects the curved portion of the panel with the flangeIl which Vis maintained in a vertical plane in order'- tobe in augmentwith the flange 86 of the outerv panel. It should be noted that the natportion IIB at the bottom of the panel 82 forms a convenient shelf whichmay be used while rearranging the contents of the provision compartment.

'I'he return .nge 84 of the outer panel may carry a channel. member It!completely around the door for the purpose of holding a flexible gasketIII.

the return flange Il and the gasketl Hl may be' The channel IDI may bewelded to snapped linto the channel Ill. This gasket forms a sealbetween the door' and the refrigerator with the above detaus ofcnnstrncunn in mind it will be apparent that the refrigerator embodyingmy invention may be easily and cheaply. as-

sembled. The. casing and tank lining may be j made up each as a unitatno more expense than is now required for those parts of therefrigerator and may then be assembled by merely engaging the thermalseparating strips and the turnbuckles with the lugs provided on the casyI 2,263,071 f t lng and tank uning and then tightening the turnbuckles.'I have thus eliminated the work necessary to install a frame within thecasing and acting as' a thermal break between the two members; The -onlymetallic contact between the casing and the tank lining is through thefour turnbuckles and since the connection between the turnbuokles andthe lugs on the casing is va line contact there will be very little areafor heat leakage into the tank lining. The same insulating propertiesare present in the door construction which I have shown. v

` While I have i described my invention with some detail I do not intendto be limited to the yparticular embodiment described but reserve the ysaid lining, turnbucklesengaging the lugs on said the work necessary'tofasten the casing and tank ing at vthe corners thereof -said turnbucklesbeing casing and said lining for drawing them together, insulatingstripsengaging the ilanges on said casing and said lining along eachside of said door opening and flexible insulating plugs adapted to besnapped into engagement with the ange on said casing and the flange onsaid linaccessible for manipulation only through the openings closed byvsaid flexible plugs.

2. A refrigerator door construction comprisright to make such changes inequivalent structure as will fall'within the purview of theattachedclaims.

I claim:

1. A casing dening a-door opening, a lining in spaced relation to saidcasing, an inturnedflange on said casing around said door opening, anoutturned flange on said lining around said door opening, lugs havingstrips fastened to each corner of said ange on said casing, lugs havingstrips fastened to each corner o f said flange on inner panel having a'flange around its edge turned towards said outer panel. `a ange alongeach side of the return flange on said outer panel, a gusset plate.fastened to each corner` of said return flange on said outer panel, saidgusset plate having a portion bent up to .form a lug, another lug havingstrips fastened along each corner of the iiange on said inner panel,rigid inouter panel and the lugs on said inner panel adapted to drawsaid'panels into engagement with said insulating strips and flexibleinsulating plugs removably fastened between the flange' on said innerpanel and the anges on the return iange on said outer panelat thecorners thereof,

said fastening means being'accessible when said flexible plugs areremoved.

Y LEONARD H; DAr'tBYSI-IIRE.y

